Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen: A Commentary on The Quintessence of Spiritual Practice, The Direct Instructions of the Great Compassionate One

Rating:
Summary: Concise and worth reading
Review: I'd probably give this 4.5 stars if I could, but plumped for the 5. It's nicely concise though it does reiterate a lot of basic material. It does add some very fine specific comments for more advanced practitioners as well. It is Choknyi Nyima Ripoche's commentary on Karma Chagme's 17th century text of the same title. It does not, I believe, address the entire original text, however. This book is a good follow-up or precursor (as you choose) to Gyatrul Rinpoche's commentary on the same Karma Chagme text, published in 2 volumes as "Naked Awareness" and "A Spacious Path to Freedom." An additional related text, "Natural Liberation" is attributed to the earlier master Padmasambhava. These 3 are translated by B. Alan Wallace and, I believe that, the introductions make the connection between the two original texts. However, even the 3 together are not a complete exposition of the Union. It is unknown if even all 4 texts together completely cover Karma Chagme's original text and its teachings. The present text by Choyni Nyima (and translated by Erik Pema) is far shorter than the others. All 4 of these books are high quality, more advanced than most present texts, and well worth reading. They are among the clearest and pithiest of currently available English translations of Mahamudra and Dzogchen texts and help one to not only understand their relationships, but more importantly to understand the underlying truths within them. They also provide considerable practical guidance for the practitioner. Mahamudra is contended to be the highest teaching within the Kagyu tradition (among the 4 Tibetan Buddhist traditions). Dzogchen is similarly regarded for the Nyingma tradition. Thus, such original works can be said to address the very highest Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhist) teachings. While their terminologies differ considerably, the main concepts (especially the view and fruit) of the two teachings are extremely similar. Authors frequently flip between the two to communicate explanations to the reader. The Rime movement (supported by such great masters as Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche and Dudjom Rinpoche) emphasized cross-tradition studies between and among the 4 main Tibetan Buddhist schools, and many contemporary masters also include Bon Dzogchen as well. This medieval work can be viewed as a precursor to this ecumenical viewpoint. It is obvious (even in translation) that Karma Chagme was a great, enlightened master. This volume contains a wealth of valuable material and is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: What it is....
Review: This book consists of a text by Karma Chagmey, one of the founders of the Palyul division of the Nyingma school of Vajrayane Buddhism. At first I was put off by it, since it implicitly promises to discourse on the principles of not one, but two, sublime paths, Dzogchen _and_ Mahamudra; then after going through a pretty normal (for Vajrayana texts) progression through the four thoughts that change the mind, etc., becomes a discourse on Guru Yoga with Chenrezig as the Lama. In other words, there is a faint sense of having shown up for the lecture and having to begin at the very beginning and patiently work up to the real juicy parts. This attitude, of course, is one of our major obstacles in the West to really appreciating the "advanced teachings." We want them, but don't want to go through the boring parts. On re-reading the text, however, I found it very charming and down to earth. It made my practice feel more centered by getting me back to basics (refine the details) while keeping the goal (the sublime) in mind. As an overview of all of the essentials of the path, it also helps my Ngondro. Sort of puts things into a kinder, gentler perspective. I now find it a great companion on trips, being relatively thin (for packing and carrying in a camera bag or pack), written in everyday (to the extent this is possible) language and lacking in pretension. Chokyi Nyima's comments are also helpful, and he does occasionally drop in the technical tidbit we all long for. Finally, if you have any Palyul empowerments, it is great to see a book written around the lineage founder's text. It is great to know the founder was kind and had a sense of humor, and especially that he encouraged lay practitioners.